Texas Property Tax Rates by County

Texas Property Tax Rates - 48 Counties Ranked

Ranked from the lowest to the highest representative combined property tax rate. The "combined rate" is the sum of a major city, its school district, the county, and any countywide hospital, college, or special districts, at their adopted 2025 rates. The "typical effective" column is a Census ACS estimate of what homeowners in that county actually pay on market value. The example bill applies the $140,000 school homestead exemption to a $400,000 home.

Combined rates are a representative nominal taxing-unit stack (major city + school district + county + special districts) at adopted 2025 rates, per each county page. Typical effective rates are Census ACS estimates (median real estate taxes / median home value). The example bill applies the $140,000 school-district homestead exemption to a $400,000 home and each county's representative stack; it excludes local-option city/county exemptions and any MUD. Your exact bill depends on your city, school district, and special districts.

Texas Property Tax by Metro

The same 54 counties, grouped by metro. Within each metro, the county you buy in can change your rate by a meaningful margin - which is why buyers compare adjacent counties before choosing where to live.

Greater Houston

Harris (~2.03%) anchors the metro; the suburban counties spread wide - Galveston (~1.66%, League City / Texas City) is the lowest combined rate in the Houston metro, then Fort Bend (~1.84%, Sugar Land / Katy) and Montgomery (~1.91%, Conroe / The Woodlands), while Brazoria (~2.23%, Pearland / Alvin) runs higher because Pearland ISD and the City of Pearland both carry heavy rates. Montgomery adds a countywide hospital district and Lone Star College across most of the county; many Houston-metro suburbs also carry a municipal utility district (MUD) on top. Head-to-head: Fort Bend vs Montgomery - where the lower headline rate is not the lower bill.

Dallas-Fort Worth

The widest spread of any metro. Collin (~1.71%, Plano / Frisco) and Denton (~1.99%) are the lower-rate northern suburbs, while Tarrant (~2.19%, Fort Worth) and Dallas (~2.21%) run higher - Dallas and Tarrant each carry a countywide hospital district and community college that the northern suburbs do not. On the metro's fast-growing exurban edges, Parker (~1.71%, Weatherford / Aledo) to the west is among the lower DFW rates thanks to a low Weatherford ISD rate, while Ellis (~2.07%, Waxahachie / Midlothian) to the south, Johnson (~2.21%, Cleburne / Burleson) to the southwest, and Kaufman (~2.12%, Forney / Terrell) to the east sit in between, though many newer Kaufman subdivisions add a MUD or Fresh Water District that lifts the real bill. On the metro's far northwest edge, Wise (~1.73%, Decatur / Bridgeport) is among the lower DFW rates, with a very low county-own rate ($0.265000) and no countywide hospital or college district, though many new subdivisions there add a municipal utility district. On the metro's southwest edge, Hood (~1.63%, Granbury on Lake Granbury) is among the very lowest DFW-area combined rates - a clean three-unit school-city-county stack with no countywide hospital or community college district, though new Cresson-area subdivisions can add a MUD. Head-to-head: Collin vs Denton.

Greater Austin

Williamson (~1.68%, Round Rock / Georgetown) is among the lowest combined rates we cover and sits just north of Travis (~2.05%, Austin). Travis carries Central Health and Austin Community College county-wide; Williamson has neither on most bills (Austin Community College taxes only annexed areas), which is a large part of the gap. This is one of the most-searched "which county is cheaper" pairs in the state - see the full head-to-head: Williamson vs Travis. Just south along I-35, Hays (~2.21%, San Marcos / Kyle) is the metro's fast-growing southern edge, where Hays CISD and the City of Kyle both carry high rates.

San Antonio

Bexar (~2.27%) carries an unusually large countywide portion because it stacks University Health, Alamo Colleges, the San Antonio River Authority, and a road-and-flood district on top of the county's own rate - one of the highest combined rates among the covered counties. On the metro's fast-growing I-35 corridor, Comal (~1.75%, New Braunfels) and Guadalupe (~1.93%, Seguin / Schertz) run well below Bexar - neither stacks a countywide hospital or community college district, and Comal's 20% local-option county homestead exemption pulls its typical effective rate down to about 1.13%, the lowest among all covered counties.

Rio Grande Valley

Hidalgo (~2.28%, McAllen / Edinburg / Mission) has one of the highest nominal combined rates we cover because Valley parcels stack many units - the county, a drainage district, the city, the school district, South Texas College, and the regional South Texas ISD. But Rio Grande Valley home values are among the lowest in the state, so the typical effective rate (~1.46%) and the dollar bill are moderate, and the large $140,000 school homestead exemption wipes out most of the school tax on a median home. Cameron (~2.02%, Brownsville / Harlingen / San Benito) at the very tip of Texas stacks five units too - the county, city, Brownsville ISD, Texas Southmost College, and South Texas ISD - but its lower city and school rates put it below Hidalgo; with a median home value of about $136,500, the $140,000 school exemption zeroes the school portion outright for many homesteads, and its effective rate is about 1.50%.

East Texas

Smith (~1.63%, Tyler / Whitehouse) is the second-lowest combined rate we cover, behind Midland. A City of Tyler / Tyler ISD parcel stacks only four units, and two things hold the total down: the City of Tyler carries a zero debt rate (its entire levy is maintenance and operations), and Smith County levies a single consolidated rate with no separate road or Farm-to-Market unit. Every unit in the Tyler stack cut its rate for 2025. Its effective rate (~1.16%) is among the lowest on this page (only lake-heavy Henderson, below, runs lower). Just east, Gregg (~2.00%, Longview / Kilgore) shares that low effective rate (~1.16%) despite a higher nominal stack: Gregg County's own rate is a modest $0.304331 (general fund plus a distinct Road and Bridge line), but Longview ISD carries an unusually heavy debt-service rate ($0.483000 of its $1.129900), so the school district is about 57% of a Longview bill and the county only about 15%. Southwest of Tyler, Henderson (~2.03% nominal, Athens / Cedar Creek Lake) has the lowest typical effective rate we have measured (~0.94%), because home values around the lake are modest and many parcels are lake or retirement homes; its bill stacks four units including the Trinity Valley Community College district.

Permian Basin

Midland (~1.47%, Midland / Greenwood) is the lowest combined rate we cover, and Midland County's own rate of $0.121374 per $100 is the lowest county-own rate on this page by a wide margin - less than half the next lowest. Every unit in the City of Midland / Midland ISD stack cut its rate for 2025, and the county cut from $0.131579. The county is only about 8% of a Midland tax bill while Midland ISD is roughly 57% of it. Read the rate carefully though: Midland's median home value of about $312,700 is high for Texas, so the median dollar bill (~$3,832) lands above several counties with worse-looking rates. Midland County grants a $150,000 over-65 exemption, the largest county-level over-65 amount on this page. Across the county line, Ector (~2.22%, Odessa) tells the opposite story: its combined rate is more than a full point higher than Midland's, because Ector County raised its own rate sharply for 2025 - from $0.350000 (flat since 2021) to $0.438950 - to fund capital projects, and a City of Odessa parcel stacks Odessa College and a hospital district on top. But every major unit in the Odessa stack grants a 20% local-option homestead exemption (10% on the hospital district), so the typical effective rate is only about 1.27%. The two halves of the Midland-Odessa metro sit at opposite ends of this table.

Big Country

Taylor (~2.27%, Abilene) anchors West Central Texas. Its bill is a clean three-unit stack - Abilene ISD, the City of Abilene, and Taylor County - with no county hospital or community college district. Unusually, the City of Abilene rate ($0.750600) is higher than the county rate ($0.557800), and the county's near-quarter share of the bill is large for a Texas county. The Central Appraisal District of Taylor County both appraises and collects the tax, and Abilene's 8.25% sales tax carries a dedicated 0.50% for property-tax relief. The typical effective rate is about 1.37%.

Southeast Texas

Jefferson (~2.30%, Beaumont / Port Arthur / Nederland) sits near the top of this table for a structural reason rather than a high county rate: the county's own rate is a modest $0.357000 per $100, but a City of Beaumont parcel stacks six taxing units, including Drainage District #6, the Sabine Neches Navigation District, and the Port of Beaumont. Those three Gulf Coast flood-control and navigation districts add about $0.352508 per $100 between them - very nearly as much as the county itself - and most Texas counties carry no equivalent line. Jefferson also has the widest internal spread we have measured: the appraisal district's own published combinations run from 1.67% in Hardin-Jefferson ISD to 2.81% in Port Arthur ISD. Four of the six units grant a 20% local-option homestead exemption, which pulls the typical effective rate down to about 1.53%.

Brazos Valley

Brazos (~1.91%, College Station / Bryan) is the Texas A&M market. The College Station stack is short - just school, city, and county - because Blinn College District does not levy in Brazos County despite its Bryan campus. A Bryan / Bryan ISD parcel runs a little higher at ~1.97%. Because the market is heavily student-rental, many parcels claim no homestead exemption at all and pay much closer to the nominal rate than the ~1.54% owner-occupied effective figure suggests.

Coastal Bend and South Plains

Nueces (~2.21%, Corpus Christi) carries a six-unit stack including Del Mar College and a countywide hospital district, though four separate 20% local-option homestead exemptions pull the effective rate down to ~1.59%. Lubbock (~1.77%, Lubbock / Wolfforth) runs lower because no community college district levies inside the city; the county also adopted exactly its no-new-revenue rate for 2025.

West Texas

Tom Green (~2.34%, San Angelo) sits second-highest on this page, but not because of the county: Tom Green County's own rate is a middling $0.47075, and there is no countywide college or hospital district on the bill. The nominal stack runs high because both San Angelo ISD and the City of San Angelo carry heavy rates - San Angelo ISD jumped from $0.81231 in 2024 to $1.07060 in 2025 on voter-approved bond debt - and the City of San Angelo rate ($0.79470) actually exceeds the county's. Its typical effective rate is a much calmer ~1.29%. El Paso (~2.64%) is the highest combined rate among the covered counties. El Paso stacks more countywide units than most Texas counties - besides the county, a City of El Paso / El Paso ISD parcel pays a countywide hospital district (University Medical Center of El Paso) and El Paso Community College. Home values are relatively low, so the typical effective rate (~1.73%) is well below the nominal stack.

Central Texas

Bell (~1.98%, Killeen / Temple / Fort Cavazos) sits between the Austin and Waco metros. A Killeen / Killeen ISD parcel stacks only the county, city, school district, and Central Texas College - no countywide hospital district - and with a median home value near $241,000 the typical effective rate (~1.44%) is among the lowest of any covered county. McLennan (~2.25%, Waco / Hewitt / Woodway) sits north of Bell on I-35 and carries a much heavier nominal stack, largely because the City of Waco levies $0.755 per $100 - more than twice the county rate. Its effective rate (~1.42%) is far below that nominal figure because McLennan County, McLennan Community College, and the City of Waco each grant a percentage local-option homestead exemption (20%, 20%, and 15%). Just west of Bell, Coryell (~2.01%, Copperas Cove / Gatesville) is the western half of the Killeen-Temple metro next to Fort Cavazos; a Copperas Cove parcel adds the Central Texas College district to school, city, and county for a four-unit stack, and its typical effective rate is about 1.41%.

North Texas (Red River)

Grayson (~2.19%, Sherman / Denison) is the fast-growing Texoma county on the Red River, pulling in overflow growth from the Dallas-Fort Worth metro up the US-75 corridor (the Texas Instruments SM1 fab landed in Sherman). Its bill is a four-unit stack because Grayson County has a countywide junior college district - Grayson College - that most covered counties lack; the City of Denison rate ($0.712034) runs well above county-seat Sherman ($0.508000). Further west, Wichita (~2.28%, Wichita Falls) anchors the Red River plains around Sheppard Air Force Base. Wichita has no countywide college district and has cut its county rate five years running, but its low median home value (~$153,700) pushes the typical effective rate to about 1.64% - modest dollars, high percentage.

Understanding the Spread

The combined rates in the table run from about 1.66% to 2.64% - a spread of roughly 0.98 percentage points, or about $3,920 a year on a $400,000 home. Two things drive most of that gap:

• Countywide special districts. Counties with a hospital district plus a community college on the bill (El Paso, Bexar, Dallas, Harris, Travis) carry a larger countywide portion than counties without (Williamson, Collin, Denton). That single structural difference explains much of the top-vs-bottom spread.
• The city and school district you land in. Because the school district is usually about half the bill, a lower-rate ISD (like Round Rock or Plano) pulls a county toward the bottom of the ranking even if the county's own rate is average.

What Is - and Is Not - Directly Comparable

The combined rate is the fairest single number to rank counties, but read it with three cautions:

• Nominal, not effective. The combined rate adds up posted per-$100 rates before exemptions. The typical effective column is closer to what people pay, and it can re-order counties - Montgomery's nominal rate is high (1.91%) but its effective rate is the lowest in the table (~1.37%), because much of the county sits in The Woodlands (no city tax) and long-held homesteads benefit from the cap.
• Rate is not the dollar bill. Home values differ sharply by metro. A lower rate on a higher-value Austin home can still cost more in dollars than a higher rate on a lower-value suburb - use the county comparison calculator to compare a specific home value.
• Special districts vary within a county. A municipal utility district (MUD), emergency-services district, or improvement district can add its own rate on top of the stack, especially in newer master-planned communities. The table excludes these.

Next Steps

• Compare a specific home value across counties with the Texas county tax comparison calculator.
• Project next year's bill under the 10% appraisal cap with the Texas property tax cap calculator.
• See a county's full breakdown - each county page has the taxing-unit stack, an exemption-aware estimator, and official sources. Start with the Texas hub.

Methodology

Each county's combined rate is the sum of a representative major city, its school district, the county's own rate, and any countywide hospital, college, or special districts, at their adopted 2025 (tax year) rates, taken from each county's official records (county tax office / appraisal district / Truth-in-Taxation) as documented on that county's page. The typical effective rate is a Census American Community Survey (ACS) estimate - median real estate taxes paid divided by median home value for the county - and is labeled an estimate, not an adopted rate. The example bill applies the $140,000 school-district homestead exemption to a $400,000 home against each county's representative stack, before local-option city/county exemptions and any MUD. Rates are representative because the exact stack varies by city, school district, and special district within each county. We do not invent rates; every figure traces to the county page and its official sources.